Histoire de Belle-Isle-en-Mer

Belle Isle en Mer, 1840. Full Morocco. Near Fine. Manuscript local history of Breton island written with a beautiful cursive hand, a beautiful watercolor of a shore panorama and a highly decorative title page. 4to. 25.5 by 19 cm. 650 pp. (325 leaves.) The watercolor is actually dated 1840, and this suggests strongly to us that the manuscript text was of this later date, and probably a copy of an earlier manuscript, especially since the ruling on the pages and the style of cursive is entirely consistent with that of the mid-19th century. Bound by Bauzonnet Trautz in full brown morocco, tooled turn-ins. Belle-Isle is in the Department of Morbihan, a part (truncated) of ancient Brittany. It was the last stronghold of about 7,000 Royalists in 1795. With several small ports, the island's economy was heavily reliant on pichard fishing. In more recent times it has become predictably a favored location for second homes. The history begins with the formation of the island, its place in antiquity and indigenous population. The island does have historic significance as an important vantage point during wartime. The island was also closely associated with the Fouquet family. Condition: leather with rubbing and some abrasions, but still attractive. Interior tight and clean. (Inventory #: 006055)